google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, May 16, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

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May 16, 2008

Friday, May 16, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: Addition Alteration

17A: Unwritten things to do?: MENTAL LIST (MENTALIST)

60A: Magical circle?: WONDER RING (WONDERING)

11D: Interior designer's fee?: DECOR RATE (DECORATE)

34D: Put off monthly payment?: DEFER RENT (DEFERENT)

This is one effervescent puzzle! Seems like the author can hardly contain his emotions. We've got FIRE (54D), ENTHUSED (20A: Agog), ZEAL (16A: Ardor), so exuberant! And LOSER (24A, Vanquished one), PRISSY (35A: Prim) are both treated with WINCE (15A: Cringe), BOOS (32D: Ghostly greetings) and SNEER (44A: Look of contempt).

I also like the following pairings:

SLED (13D: Winter transport) & SNOW (56D: Winter fall);

SELECTOR (56A: One who chooses) & OPTS (26D: Makes up one's mind);

AWLS (5D: Hole-making tools) & 36D: Carpentry tools: SAWS.

Quite a few TRICKS (27: Bamboozles) in today's puzzle. Some of the clues are wickedly misleading to me, esp 24A: Vanquished one (LOSER) and 24D: Wound (LESION). I was thinking of a past tense verb in both cases. But it's a solid puzzle.

ACROSS:

1A: Cold-cut palace: DELI. Why palace? Is it typo?

5A: Perpendicular to the keel: ABEAM. At right angles to the keel of a ship. Not familiar with this nautical term.

10A: Puts on: ADDS. As in weight, I suppose.

14A: Folk singer Burl: IVES. Did not know him. Had no idea that he was the singer for "A Holly Jolly Christmas".

19A: Break out problem: ACNE

21A: Firing line order: RELOAD. Any one ever followed William F. Buckley's "Firing Line"?

23A: Brown ermine: STOAT. You talkin' to me?

25A: Play the flute: TOOTLE. Saw this clue before.

29A: Skinned: PARED. Dislike the clue. Skin always means PEEL to me. I PEEL my fruits first, then PARE down, unless it's pineapple or cantaloupe.

35A: Prim: PRISSY. PRISSY comes from PRIM & SISSY.

39A: Leg bone: TIBIA

40A: Gossip pair: ITEM. Who are the the ITEM on this photo?

42A: Third party funds: ESCROW

43A: Capone's nemesis: NESS (Eliot). Love the "The Untouchables".

46A: "Dust in the wind" group: KANSAS. No idea. Strung it together from down clues.

54A: Actor Jose: FERRER. Unknown to me. But it's easily obtainable.

62A: Milieu for Lemieux: RINK. Sometimes I think the constructor has IDEE fixe (59A: Obsession) with this alliteration or half alliteration stuff. Aren't all eyes on Sidney Crosby now?

63A: "Reversal of Fortune" star: IRONS (Jeremy). Have never seen this movie. Like IRONS a lot, esp Damage, stunningly erotic and thrilling.

66A: Unfamiliar with: NEW AT

67A: Gull cousin: TERN. Is this a gull or a TERN?

DOWN:

2D: Happening: EVENT

3D: Slowly, in music: LENTO. What's the difference between LENTO and ADAGIO?

4D: No kidding: IS THAT SO. And 45D: A-ha!: EUREKA. I like them both.

10D: Showy shrub: AZALEA. Has anyone been to Augusta Golf Course before?

18D: Mobile leader?: AUTO. Automobile.

22D: Spot in a crowd: ESPY. When are you going to turn to ___ Awards?

28D: Zodiac sing: LIBRA

31D: Sen. group: DEMS (DEMOCRATS). Hmm, looks like TMS puzzle is liberal leaning. Harry REID and now DEMS.

40D: Privately: IN SECRET

42D: Perry's creator: ERLE. Also EDIT (55D: Emulate Perry White), nice author and editor pair.

47D: Sketch artist: APER. I don't get this one? Why?

49D: Field Marshal Rommel: ERWIN. "The Desert Fox".

51D: Steps over a fence: STILE

52D: Skin cream: TONER. No, no, TONER is liquid, not cream.

54D: "Chariots of __": FIRE. Didn't we see this clue a month ago?

57D: Millay of poetry: EDNA. Hate the clue. St. Vincent should not be omitted.

C.C.

56 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - Nary a hitch this morning, although I agree with you, C.C., that a couple of the clues were vague.

A 'sketch' is can also be a skit, and that's where you might see an 'aper'.
67A I think is a tern.
Your picture with 40A - is that Derek Jeter (sitting)?

Hope it's an outstanding weekend for all - mkatesq, sorry about the loss, but we needed at least one win here.

Dick said...

Good morning cc. I missed you yesterday as my ISP crashed again. Todays puzzle was a snap and I finished it in "Dennis" time the same as yesterdays puzzle. Your question about whether the photo was of a I think it is a tern because of the pointed tail feathers. The gull has a more of a blunted tail, I think.

Dick said...

mkatesq guess we both had a bad night last night as we watched the Pens go down the chute. Hope home ice advantage will get the Pens into the finals. Oh by the way Happy Birthday belated.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Dennis,
Thanks for the APER explanation. How can you tell it's Jeter?

Dick,
I thought you decided to shoot balls on the golf course after nailing SOIL on Wednesday.

Dennis said...

C.C., it just looks like his profile; is it? And WHO IS THAT IN THE BIKINI?

Dick said...

cc I did that after the ISP crash. I should have stayed here and stared at the blank computer. How can you have a 37 through 8 holes and then score 8 on the 9th hole. Sh..!!

Katherine said...

Good morning everyone.I aced this one too. Good puzzle this morning. That is a cute picture of a stoat. I did not know what they looked like. And CC, are you going to tell us who the "item"s are in 20A????

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Dick,
Is #9 a par 5?

Dennis,
You are one astute observer. It's Jeter. But I am NOT going to tell you and Katherine who the girl is. Keep guessing!

Oh by the way, Carol
Welcome to our dysfunctional family.

Dr. Dad said...

Great Days!!! 8 minutes. Dennis probably did it in 4.
I guess I'll buy the aper explanation.
I was thinking of firing line order as the order of the men in the line rather than a command but quickly got out of that. I have to remember Zeno's home one of these days. Without down clues I would've missed it again.
Sam the Snowman/Burl Ives and "Silver and Gold." Sigh!!
Some people who are deli freaks might think of it as a "palace."
When Archimedes was taking a bath and realized that he had displaced some water and that the volume of water displaced = the volume of his body, he exclaimed "Eureka!!" and then ran outside naked. Lois would probably have gone with him. (LOL)
We saw Kansas when they were first starting out around 1974 just outside Kansas City. Had autographs at the time but have since lost them. Guess I'll just have to Carry On Wayward Son.

I hope everyone rode their bicycles to work today because today is Ride Your Bike To Work Day. It's also "Love a Tree Day" so go out and give a tree a great big hug.

Have a great day!!! Attack it with zeal, be a good selector when you opt, try being new at something, follow the rules, don't be a loser or an oaf, go to the deli for lunch, and be enthused and yell Eureka. Don't sneer. Reload if you start feeling tired and begin to see lesions from your efforts.

Kind of dumb, I know but what the heck - It's Friday!!!!

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Drdad,
This is the most ebullient comment I've ever seen. Bubbling with Archimedean/Lois-esq joy. EUREKA! I think every tree is excited now!

Dr. Dad said...

A bit too long I'm afraid. I apologize to all and ask for forgiveness.

Dennis said...

Vanessa Minnilli?

Dr. Dad said...

It does look like Jeter, Dennis. You can't see his hands. What's he doing with those?

Dr. Dad said...

It looks like a photo of a Common Tern.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

A few questions regarding yesterday's Comments:

Bill,
Your comments at 6:49am: "I guess, now, when a constructor clues a city or a place we must not skip over the "time zones" as an answer !That, also seems a stretch....at least, to me." What does that mean?

Dennis,
I don't understand your @ 7:24am comment to Lois and I can not understand her response @7:42am. What's the fun there?

Barry,
What's the slang meaning of saccharine?

NYTanonimo,
I like your response to Nylon Stockings Day.

Dick said...

cc yes it is/was a par 5. Drdad your dissertation here must have been as long as your dissertation for your doctorate. Dennis I think that is Lois in the bikini.

Kim said...

Good Morning!

Sorry I'm a little late, but our Yorkie, Zach has been waking us up in the middle of the night and since I'm no longer venturing out into the working world, I get up with him and try to calm him down. Wish I knew how to stop him!!!

Anyway, I loved this one! CC, its my opinion that "palace" was correct. It wants you to pick the premier place for a cold cut. At least thats how I took the clue! I also loved 56D.

Any dog whisperer's out there, let me know!

Til tomorrow!

Dennis said...

C.C., will explain off-channel.

Superfrey said...

C.C. Looks like J.Lo and Jeter...
Nice puzzle with some tricks in it..We should have more like this one.

Bill said...

Hi All..C.C., Seems we had NYC the other day and an allusion to LA (LAX) yesterday and the answers were the appropriate time zones and, maybe I'm thick, but I still don't get the connection.
Not a bad day today. No times like the ACES but around 35 min with no calls to Mr. Google. Afraid I'm not doing much to support him lately but I'm sure he'll do just fine.
Got a machine on the work bench and have to prepare the yard for granddaughters 16th b-day party this weekend. Back later.
CYA

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Kim,
Thanks for the Palace explanation.

Dennis,
I will let you know who the girl is tomorrow morning. I want to give everybody a fair chance to guess.

Superfrey,
You are spot-on in saying "Nice puzzle with some tricks in it..We should have more like this one." That's exactly what I've been thinking this morning!

Bill,
Thanks.

Der Katze said...

67A: During a storm, a marijuana smuggler’s boat got shipwrecked on a bird rookery in the Florida Keys. All those drugs went ashore. The Drug Enforcement Agency was concerned about the effects on the nesting terns, and called the Audubon society. Their fears were confirmed.....no tern was left unstoned. (Sorry, couldn't help it.)

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Taking the day off today, so I slept in a bit. I thoroughly enjoyed today's puzzle! Perfect mix of challenging clues and "gimmes", plus themed clues I could actually figure out on their own with a little thought.

I'm with C.C. on APER, however. Even with Dennis's explanation, it just doesn't make any sense to me. Fortunately, it was easily gotten with the cross clues, so no harm, no foul.

Barry G. said...

Barry,
What's the slang meaning of saccharine?


Overly sweet or cloying. I guess it's not really a slang meaning, but it's different than the standard usage of just the name of an artificial sweetener.

Similarly, mushy can refer to texture, but is also used to mean something overly cute, cloying or sweet like a particularly sappy love letter.

Dr. Dad said...

der katze sucked me right in with the DEA story.

Dick said...

der katza liked your DEA story.

Anonymous said...

Good morning CC and D's, I love this puzzle. Great clues and answers with a few twists for the twisted.

Dennis: I'm impressed that you got past the bikini even to see Jeter. I want to know who is in the background. I think it's Santa!

And Dick: You nailed me yet again! You are soooo good! yes, Yes, YES! that IS me in the bikini (40A link). Just keep that image in mind when you think of me.

I agree w/superfrey. I think it's JLo...we're twins except for the age difference-just born 100 yrs apart.

drdad: Archemides and his Eureka experience in the bath tub? Yeah, I was there. It wasn't the displacement of the water that he screamed Eureka for!

Loved all the music references (Kansas) and the 'mouth' instruments: flute and my personal favorite 'organ'. I play both but am much more proficient
w/the 'organ'.

der katze: that is such a cute joke. Made me laugh.

I'm late b/c I had to invigilate...at work no less. I highly recommend the experience!

Enjoy this gorgeous day!

Dick said...

Lois I will invigilate your image as shown in cc link. Wow I like you vocabulary also.

MH said...

A good solvable puzzle, but I would like to see just one that doesn't use people's names. Who's with me on this? CC, didn't you like the balance of Libra anchoring the center? Is deferent really a word? I guess I guess it is but not one that gets often used.

Dennis said...

Lois, I think I need to invigilate your musical work...

Dr. Dad said...

Invigilate is related to "proctor" which is too close to "proctology" for me.

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning everyone! A breeze today, although I tried to put in ENTRANCED for 20A. 1A is the epitome of cold cut purveyors, thus the palace -- no typo there. I first thought 5A was ABAFT, but the perps helped set me straight. Nice stoat picture. The bird is definitely a tern -- the tail feathers are the distinguishing feature. Wanted 40A to be ESSES, but too many letters, LOL! Without looking it up, I think ADAGIO is a tad faster than LENTO. The "sketch" of 47D is in reference to a "skit" I think. It's sometimes a parody, thus the APER answer. C.C., I'll take your word on 52D. Drdad, I was so happy to finally remember Zeno's home today. Hang in there, it will happen. Kim, I agree, 56D was an awesome clue. Der Katze, loved the story. Lois, you're a scream!

Anonymous said...

Hello c.c. and all, This was a good puzzle. I had stumbled on 10A by putting "dons" in until I worked the down clues and corrected that.
47D makes no sense to me either.
Shouldn't 34D be deferment?? When you "put off a payment", you defer it to another time. Maybe I have the wrong meaning.
I did this puzzle without referring to Google or my trusty dictionary...that does not happen too often.
Agree with c.c.: skin CREAM is not toner.
Must sign off for now and get my bike ride in before it gets too hot , supposed to be 97 today!!! Ack Ack
Carol

Anonymous said...

drdad: Proctology is perfect for this dysfunctional group....nuts and butts! heads and tails! rears and queers! Odds and ends! It's all good!

Dick: Thank you for invigilating that hot and lovely image of me. I love it when you talk like that too!

Dennis; Watch my lips... OOOOOOOOOOOO, yeah! As Melissa said, It's just a matter of time.. as in TempO...'LENTO', AdagiO, Andante, AllegrO, then prestO (pure magic!!!!) Eureka!!!!

Anonymous said...

regarding skinned-pared - you can strip the skin off of an apple using a peeler, as you say, or with a paring knife... hence, a pared apple...

Dr. Dad said...

Anon @ 10:52 - in keeping with the puzzle theme it has to be "defer rent' so that it sounds correct. To put off monthly payment is to "defer rent", i.e. put off paying rent until later.

Dr. Dad said...

mh - deferent is really a word.

Dr. Dad said...

Lois forgot Viagr-o!

Dennis said...

drdad, did you by chance take speed this morning?

Dr. Dad said...

No. Probably too much coffee. I will cool off tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

drdad: ViagrO? OOOOOOk! I'm OOOOOOn it! actually, all OOOOver it.

Dr. Dad said...

Dennis' comment is well taken. I updated my photograph and am now going to sign off.

jimhllrn said...

I just knew that 10A had to be DONS cause it always is. (except for once a few weeks ago.) Then DANA Garvey came up and I went to KIDS. I didn't get it until I realized that there probably aren't any words beginning with KZA and then the light came on.
56A also - - first it was DIRECTOR and then I didn't know any of the 3 below it until the 'downs' came to my aid. Good puzzle. I liked it a lot.
Also, if I hadn't known the imerick I never would have guessed what 25A was.
I've thought for a long time that the clues were the things that make the puzzles so enjoyable. Will Storz discussed cluss on NPR a few years back and it was enlightening.

Dennis said...

Lois, I see you like the big 'O's a lot, huh?
drdad, don't go anywhere - you're a major contributor here; I was just having some fun with you, 'cause you seem especially gregarious today.
Besides, we fonts of totally useless information need to sticktogether.

Anonymous said...

Thank you drdad for the explanation of 34D....I feel foolish now, because I should have known that was part of the theme! Not enough active brain cells this morning. I am better now tho', had a nice 10 mile bike ride to activate cells.
After reading the last comment from Lois, it looks as though we might have "lost" her again :)

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Mh,
But LIBRA is not related to the theme entries, is it?

Dennis, Drdad et al,
RE: 57D Are you guys OK with the clue?

Anonymous said...

Dennis: little "O's" are good too. They crescendO to big O's eventually. I've been practicing lately on the 'pipe Organ'. Now that's some kind of exciting!

drdad: Don't go. I thought you were excited b/c it's Love a Tree day....hard wood. I want some of the coffee you've had. What kind were you drinking?

Dennis said...

Noooooo Lois, you DON'T need the coffee!! God help us all...

Dennis said...

C.C., no, it should have had St. Vincent, as you so astutely pointed out.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Crockett1947,
You were so clever on 40A :-) Be careful, some constructors are reading what you are writing here.

Jim,
I also filled in DONS for 10A initially. I agree with you that it's the clues that make the puzzles sparkling. Today is a good example. Quite a few A-ha moments. I only wish our editor will emulate Will Shortz and consistently give us quality puzzles.

Crockett1947 said...

Lois seems to have a very rapid recovery time. She may stray, but she doesn't go far away and comes back to join us without fail.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Drdad,
This is the first time I met Speedy Conzales. He looks cute.

melissa bee said...

afternoon all..

got off to a rough start by entering 'mentalnote' instead of 'mentallist.' which made (this is how my fermented brain works) 'wine' fit for digestive juice .. how clever, i thought! once i cleaned that up it was mostly smooth sailing.

dennis, thanks for the 'aper' explanation .. now that i get it, i like it.

crockett, i like your answer much better for 40a gossip pair.

getting tired of oreo and eve. have also seen acne alot lately. and speaking of which, as a licensed esthetician i can absolutely agree with c.c. and carol that toner is not a cream.

but we didn't get leid, screwed or hammered today so all the better that dick nailed lois again. must have been all that invigorating invigilating.

lois, nuts and butts .. hahahaha!

speedy, c.c. is right you are adorable, and i like my coffee as much as my 'digestive juice' (that's alot). it is NOT a drug, it's your friend! your BEST friend!! it's barney in a bean!

in fact I JUST HAD SOME COFFEE, CAN YOU TELL? I know, because nothing else tastes like BOILING BURNT DIRT!!!!!!!!

pantpantpantpantpantpantpantOkayBACKTOWORKYES!!!!

lois said...

You guys & gals make me laugh sooo hard! Yeah, I may stray, but if I'm anything, I'm resilient. More like a yo-yo... except I don't have any strings attached, I don't sleep much, but I always come back for more-l. Around the world? Yeah, I do that one too, from many angles (or positions).

Enjoy your evening!

MH said...

Wow, this place is getting risque!

CC, I guess you're right that libra didn't have anything to do with the theme but I liked the idea of the celestial scales balancing in the exact middle of the puzzle.

Mr. Corcoran said...

ah well, the problem of being in another time zone...enjoyed your repartee mes amis...didjaknow that eureka is the state motto of Cahlifohrnia (just aping the Guvernator)...tired of those oreos--just waiting for the slang meaning (at least in Cal) as a clew...let's see now if all art imitates life then the artist must of course be the aper...yeah, pure crosswordese!